Red Hat Enterprise Linux Automation with Ansible (AU294)

This course is geared toward Linux system administrators, DevOps engineers, Site Reliability Engineers,  infrastructure automation engineers, and developers who are responsible for repeatable tasks such as:

- Automating configuration management

- Ensuring consistent and repeatable application deployment

- Provisioning and deployment of development, testing, and production servers

- Integrating with DevOps continuous integration/continuous delivery workflows

• Install and configure Ansible development tools in VS Code  and configure Ansible settings.
• Create and update inventories of managed hosts and manage connections to them.
• Automate administration tasks with Ansible Playbooks.
• Write effective playbooks at scale.
• Protect sensitive data used by Ansible Automation Platform with Ansible Vault.
• Reuse code and simplify playbook development with Ansible Roles and Ansible Content Collections.

An introduction to Ansible

• Describe the fundamental concepts of Ansible and how it is used, install and configure Ansible development tools in VS Code, and configure Ansible settings.

Developing automation content

• Build Ansible inventories, write and run simple and complex playbooks, and troubleshoot playbooks and host failures.

Developing Automation Content: Variables

• Write playbooks that use variables to simplify management of the playbook, protect sensitive data in variables, and use facts and magic variables to reference information about managed hosts.

Developing Automation Content: Task Control

• Write plays that use task control features to efficiently specify a task that must run once for each item in a list, or that only runs if certain conditions are met.

Developing Automation Content: Deploying Files

• Deploy, customize, and adjust files on hosts managed by Ansible.

Developing Automation Content at Scale

• Manage complex Ansible Playbooks by importing or including other playbooks and tasks, as well as by using advanced host patterns to efficiently select specific hosts from your inventory.

Reusing Code with Ansible Roles and Content Collections

• Use Ansible Roles and Ansible Content Collections to develop playbooks more quickly and to reuse Ansible code.

Automate Linux administration tasks

• Automate common Linux system administration tasks with Ansible.

Prerequisites for this course

• Pass the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) exam (EX200), or demonstrate equivalent Red Hat Enterprise Linux knowledge and experience.

Technology considerations

• For virtual, self-paced, and classroom learners:
• Internet access is required
• Labs are performed in Red Hat's Online Learning Environment
• For classroom learners, Red Hat may make available in the future a locally installed classroom environment as an alternative.

Impact on the organization

- Bring operational efficiency by removing manual processes through automation.

- Easily scale the organization's dynamic IT infrastructure.

- Accelerate application time to value.

- Rapidly adapt and implement needed innovation through DevOps practices.

Impact on the individual

You will be able to apply automation-first principles to solve real-world Linux system and services problems through the effective creation of Ansible playbooks. You will gain the skills to automate your workflows, build the foundation for DevOps practices, and learn how to leverage Ansible for developmental efficiencies.